The staggering rate of store closures that has rocked the retail industry over the last couple of years is expected to continue in 2019, with roughly the same level of closures expected this year.

Retailers closed a record-breaking 102 million square feet of store space in 2017, then smashed that record in 2018 by closing another 155 million square feet of space, according to estimates by the commercial real estate firm CoStar Group.

"This year we are predicting more of the same in the retail space," said Drew Myers, a CoStar senior consultant.

Retailers have announced more than 6,000 store closures so far this year, according to an analysis by Business Insider.